By Michael Elkins
Hertz Global Holdings (OTC:HTZGQ) Inc (NASDAQ:HTZ) announced, alongside General Motors (NYSE:GM), a major deal that would see the rental company order up to 175,000 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop EVs over the next five years. The agreement will encompass electric vehicle deliveries through 2027 as Hertz increases the EV component of its fleet and GM accelerates production of EVs broadly.
"It's exciting that two iconic American companies that have shaped the evolution of transportation for more than a century are coming together to redefine the future of mobility in the 21st century," said Stephen Scherr, Hertz CEO. "We are thrilled to partner with GM on this initiative, which will dramatically expand our EV offering to Hertz customers, including leisure and business travelers, rideshare drivers and corporates."
Hertz and GM believe this to be the largest expansion of EVs among fleet customers and the broadest because it spans a wide range of vehicle categories and price points. Over the five year period, Hertz estimates that its customers could travel more than 8 billion miles in these EVs, saving approximately 3.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions compared to similar gasoline-powered vehicles traveling such a distance.
"Our work with Hertz is a huge step forward for emissions reduction and EV adoption that will help create thousands of new EV customers for GM," said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra. "With the vehicle choice, technology and driving range we're delivering, I'm confident that each rental experience will further increase purchase consideration for our products and drive growth for our company."
Hertz is investing to create the largest rental fleet of EVs in North America, with tens of thousands of EVs available for rent at 500 Hertz locations across 38 states. The company's current goal is for one-quarter of its fleet to be electric by the end of 2024.
Hertz expects to take delivery of Chevrolet Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs in the first quarter of next year. GM deliveries to Hertz are projected to increase as GM rapidly scales its EV production between 2023 and 2025.
Shares of GM are down 4.64% in mid-day trading. Shares of HTZ are down 1.19%.